4.
E-Democracy E-democracy comprises the use of electronic communications technologies such as the Internet in enhancing democratic processes within a democratic republic. One major obstacle to the success of e-democracy is that of citizen identification. For secure elections and other secure citizen-to-government transactions, citizens must have some form of identification that preserves privacy and maybe also one which could be used in internet forums. Another obstacle is that there are many vested interests that would be harmed by a more direct democracy. Amongst these are politicians, media moguls and some interests in big business and trade unions.

5.
Digital Divide digital divide refers to the gap between people with effective access to digital and information technology and those with very limited or no access at all. It includes the imbalances in physical access to technology as well as the imbalances in resources and skills needed to effectively participate as a digital citizen. The digital divide may be classified based on gender, income, and race groups, and by locations. The term global digital divide refers to differences in technology access between countries or large regions of the world.

6.
Digital divide worldwide <ul><ul><li>Canada : According to an Autumn 2007 Canadian Internet Use Survey, 73% of Canadians aged 16 and older went online in the 12 months prior to the survey, compared to 68% in 2005. In small towns and rural areas, only 65% of residences accessed the Internet, compared to 76% in urban areas. The digital divide still exists between the rich and the poor; 91% of people making more than $91,000/year regularly used the Internet, compared to 47% of people making less than $24,000. This gap has lowered slightly since 2005 </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>China : China is the largest developing country in the world and therefore saw their Internet population grow by 20% in 2006 However, just over 19% of Chinese people have access to the Internet and the digital divide is growing due to factors such as insufficient infrastructure and high online. </li></ul></ul>

7.
Digital Divide Worldwide Cont. <ul><ul><li>Europe : A European Union study from 2005 conducted in 14 European countries and focused on the issue of digital divide found that within the EU, the digital divide is primarily a matter of age and education. Among the young or educated the proportion of computer or Internet users is much higher than with the old or uneducated. The study found that the presence of children in a household increases the chance of having a computer or Internet access, and that small businesses are catching up with larger enterprises when it comes to Internet access. </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>United States : According to a July 2008 Pew Internet & American Life report, “55% of adult Americans have broadband Internet connections at home, up from 47% who had high-speed access at home last year at this time [2007]”. This increase of 8% compared to the previous year’s increase of 5% suggests that the digital divide is decreasing. However, the findings go on to show that low-income Americans’ broadband connections decreased by 3%. </li></ul></ul>